Aliter Urticam, Calida Et Frigida
"Another Way To Prepare Nettles, Hot And Cold"
From the treasured pages of Apicius - De re coquinaria (handwritten excerpts)
Written by Apicius
Aliter Urticam, Calida Et Frigida
"Vrticam accipias lauas colas per olum & fricabis in tabula concides teres piper scripulos .x. Suffundes liquamen fricabis postea adicies liquaminis ciatos duos. olei und. .vi. Caccabum ferueat. in feruenti frictam coctam tollis et refrigerat. postea patinam nudam perunges. Franges oua .viii. & agitabis & fundes subitus super cinerem calidum ficat coctam piper minutum asperges. & inferes."
English Translation
"Take nettles, wash them, strain them through oil and rub them on a board. Cut them up. Grind ten scruples of pepper. Pour on liquamen (fish sauce), rub again, then add two cyathi of liquamen and six heminae of oil. Let it boil in a cooking pot. When it is boiled and fried, take it out and let it cool. Then grease a bare dish. Break eight eggs and beat them, pour in suddenly, place over hot ashes. When it is cooked, sprinkle a little ground pepper and serve."
Note on the Original Text
The recipe is recorded in medieval Latin, with concise instructions, minimal punctuation, and often omitting quantities. Ingredients are listed within the flow of instructions. Measurements such as 'scripulos .x.' (10 scruples) or 'ciatos duos' (2 cyathi) reflect Roman units that must be interpreted for modern cooking. Spellings vary; 'vrticam' is the Latin for nettle, and 'oua' are eggs. The recipe expects some culinary intuition — a common trait in historic cookbooks, which were written for cooks already versed in kitchen practice.
Title
Apicius - De re coquinaria (handwritten excerpts) (1475)
You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome
Writer
Apicius
Era
1475
Publisher
Venice
Background
A delectable compendium of ancient Roman cookery, this collection invites you to taste the flavors of antiquity through ten tantalizing sections based on Apicius’s famed De re coquinaria. Savor recipes, tips, and culinary wisdom penned in a fine Italian hand for the epicurean elite of the 15th century.
Kindly made available by
University of Pennsyllvania
This recipe comes from an early printed Italian manuscript, attributed to the legendary Roman gourmet Apicius, and is part of a collection — De re coquinaria — that defines Western culinary imagination from Antiquity through the Renaissance. The manuscript dates from the late 15th century, bridging Roman food traditions into early modern Italy. Roman cooks used abundant bitter greens like nettles, both for health and flavor, and enriched them with eggs to create nourishing, easily digestible dishes for both the elite and the common table.
The preparation would have used a knife for chopping, a mortar and pestle for grinding the pepper, a tabula (wooden board) for working nettles, and a caccabus — a type of Roman earthenware cooking pot — to heat the mixture. Eggs were likely beaten with a bundle of twigs or a forked stick, and the dish was baked either in a shallow clay or bronze patina set directly on embers or in the moderate heat near an open wood fire.
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Servings
4
We've done our best to adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, but some details may still need refinement. We warmly welcome feedback from fellow cooks and culinary historians — your insights support the entire community!
Ingredients
- 9 oz fresh nettle leaves (substitute: spinach if nettles unavailable)
- 0.21 oz (2 teaspoons) black pepper, freshly ground
- 3 fl oz fish sauce (substitute: Roman garum or Thai nam pla)
- 2.5 tablespoons (about 0.085 fl oz) olive oil
- 8 large eggs
Instructions
- Begin by thoroughly washing fresh nettle leaves (about 9 oz), then blanch them in boiling water for 30 seconds to remove the sting.
- Drain and chop finely on a cutting board.
- In a mortar, grind 2 teaspoons (about 0.21 oz) of black pepper.
- Moisten the chopped nettles with about 2 tablespoons (1 fl oz) of fish sauce, then work in the ground pepper.
- Add an additional 1/4 cup (2 fl oz) of fish sauce and 2.5 tablespoons (0.085 fl oz) of olive oil to the mixture.
- Place this into a saucepan and heat gently until warmed through.
- Remove the cooked mixture and let cool.
- Next, grease a shallow baking dish (like an earthenware pie plate) with olive oil.
- Beat 8 eggs until smooth, then pour the eggs into the dish.
- Quickly set the warm nettle mixture into the eggs.
- Bake in a hot oven (or over hot coals, if you want the ancient experience) until set — about 10–15 minutes at 350°F.
- Sprinkle with finely ground pepper and serve either warm or at room temperature.
Estimated Calories
220 per serving
Cooking Estimates
It takes about 15 minutes to prepare the nettles and other ingredients, plus 10–15 minutes to cook and bake the mixture. This recipe makes 4 servings, each about 220 calories.
As noted above, we have made our best effort to translate and adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, taking into account ingredients nowadays, cooking techniques, measurements, and so on. However, historical recipes often contain assumptions that require interpretation.
We'd love for anyone to help improve these adaptations. Community contributions are highly welcome. If you have suggestions, corrections, or cooking tips based on your experience with this recipe, please share them below.
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